Legal Clinic for the Disabled

Legal Clinic for the Disabled

SF-Marin Food Bank

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Frequently Asked Questions
updated: 11/12/2019

Application and Funding Questions:

My organization would like to apply for funding but we did not receive an invitation to apply, what can we do?

A. Foundation grants are awarded through an invitation only application process. This means that the Foundation reaches out directly to prospective applicants at the start of each grant cycle, for both new and returning organizations. If after careful review of our funding priorities and eligibility and alignment information, you feel that your organization may be a good match for Foundation funding, please email us at complete an introduction form to introduce your organization. Due to limited staff time, unsolicited introductions from organizations that are clearly not a match for our grant program may not receive a response from the Foundation.

May I call the Foundation’s staff with questions about the Foundation’s interests and priorities?

A. We invite interested parties to review the information in our What We Fund and Eligibility and Alignment sections of our website. We regret we are not able to accept or return phone calls from unsolicited prospective applicants.

If we submit our LOI early in the cycle, will we hear back sooner?

A. LOI Decisions will not be made any sooner than the dates posted in the Grantmaking Calendar. Grants are reviewed as individual requests but also in comparison to other requests in the same cycle. Submittals completed up to two weeks prior to the due date are welcome but will not receive priority review.

Will the Foundation provide feedback on our LOI or application before we submit it?

A. If your organization has been invited to apply and you’d like feedback about your LOI or application, please contact the Foundation office via email to schedule a conversation. While we make every attempt to respond to requests for feedback from invited applicants, we are a small staff foundation and cannot guarantee availability before each due date. Please leave ample time before the due date to correspond with us.

My organization received a Trustee Discretionary or Matching Grant. Does that mean we should consider applying through the Grant Application Program?

A. Trustee Discretionary and Matching Grants are small grants made by the Foundation at the direction of our Trustees. These are made to 501c3 charitable organizations that do not necessarily meet the granting focus areas of the Foundation or they are made to match gifts to a charitable organization that a Trustee supports personally. These grants have no grant application or reporting requirements. While we are glad to support the personal interests of the Trustees in this way, the Foundation maintains its own grantmaking priorities and is not influenced by individual philanthropic choices reflected through the Discretionary and Matching grant program.

My organization received a Philanthropy Today Grant. Does that mean we should consider applying through the Grant Application Program?

A. The Philanthropy Today program enables students to develop philanthropy skills through school-based giving clubs. The grants that are made on behalf of any Philanthropy Today club reflect the mission and values of each particular student club and not those of the Norman Raab Foundation as a whole.

Do you fund programs in Environmental Science and Research?

A. Our Foundation has not identified Environmental Science as a priority funding area at this time. We do have a history of funding environmental education, which we include in our Education funding area.

We have received prior funding from the Norman Raab Foundation but did not receive an invitation to apply this year. Can we still apply?

A. Part of our goal with an invitation only process is to manage the volume of applications, and to balance our grants across our funding areas. This means that not every grantee will be invited to reapply the following year.

Should we add the Norman Raab Foundation to our mailing list, or send correspondence or materials beyond the proposal?

A. We prefer not to be included in our applicant’s general mailing lists unless we request to opt-in. We also appreciate our applicant’s support in our efforts to reduce paper consumption. Please do not mail unsolicited hard copy materials to us.

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If you represent an organization that may be a good match with our funding priorities and geographic focus areas, please complete an Introduction Form to introduce your organization.

We are a small staff foundation and will do our best to respond to you promptly. Please note we only accept Letters of Inquiry and Grant Requests through our online grant management system. Letters of Inquiry and Applications sent via email will not be considered.